The rise of Unity was meteoric given the short time period it had to create an identity, plan its campaign strategy and carry out its ambitious objectives. The establishment of the movement followed a declaration signed by 39 governors expressing their dissatisfaction with the political battles being fought in Russia. The initial meeting of these governors to form a new electoral movement was held on 24 September 1999. It was at this meeting that Minister of Emergency Situations
Sergey Shoigu was selected as Unity’s leader. Prime Minister Putin immediately pledged support for the new bloc, saying it could help stabilize the political situation in Russia. On 24 November 1999 he told reporters that in his capacity as premier, he "should not define his political preferences" with respect to election blocs but "as an ordinary citizen" he would vote for Unity. The party’s leading candidates in
1999 State Duma elections were Sergey Shoigu, nine-times world wrestling champion
Alexander Karelin and former senior police official
Alexander Gurov. Unity, backed up by popular support for the
Second Chechen War, relied on a campaign of verbal attacks to discredit the Fatherland-All Russia alliance. == Electoral results ==